Immigration Records

Welcome to National Archives of Guyana

The Guyana Immigration Records Digitization Project

The National Archives, was established in 1958. It holds a vast quantity of historical
data valuable to the over all national development thrust of the country. This is
done in order to assist them in achieving their mission by seeking to acquire and
preserve all public records that are of value for historical or official purposes.Under
the National Archives Act, records include any manuscript, newspaper, picture,painting,
document, register, printed material, book, map, plan, drawing, photograph negative
and positive pictures; recorded information of any medium

In 1982 the National Archives of Guyana Act was passed, thereby establishing the
National Archives as a Department, with the Archivist as Officer-in-Charge, reporting
to the Minister.This act provides for a National Archives Advisory Committee.

Guyanese are a vibrant, enterprising, openhearted and hospitable people with a deep
connection the culture, religion and the values of the countries from which they
migrated. Our ancestors came to Guyana with the expectation of creating a better
way of life for their families and themselves, than they had in their native countries.
They braved the long and dangerous sea journey to get to Guyana. Many of them died
in route.

On arrival in Guyana, they were assigned to different sugar plantations based on
the selection of the recruiting agency. It did not take them long to realise the
conditions of the service that they were exposed to by their employers were deplorable
and bore no resemblance to what was promised to them by the recruiting agency.